The Northern Lightswas built in 1853 by J. Oades in Clayton,New York, she was rigged as a barkentine . In 1866, the three masted schooner Montgomery was built on the bottom of the Northern Light by S.G. Johnson in Clayton, New York.. The vessel was valued at $16,000 and rated A2 by the Board of Marine Inspectors and her official registry number was 16348.

1872, November : In tow with the barque Cecelia, damaged in a collision with the propeller Atlantic later repaired at Detroit.

1874, May: Sunk in the Welland Canal.

1875 &1878: Repairs were made.

1881, June: Collided with the propellerHenry Chisholm while docked at Cleveland, Ohio.

1887, November: Released from Bois Blanc Island by the tugs Champion and Saugatuck.

On 11/5/1890, during a gale, the schooner Montgomery went ashore on the rocks about 6 miles off Sheboygan and sank in eleven feet of water. No lives were lost, but when the tug Sheboygan tried to pull her off, it was found that she had worked over the rocks near shore and could not easily recovered. The Milwaukee Sentinel of 11/8/1890 later reported that the schooner had been abandoned.

"Yesterday afternoon the Tug Sheboygan took the schooner Elva with a crew of fourteen men to Stoney Creek, where the wrecked schooner Montgomery is lying and stripped her of her canvas and running gear. As soon as the weather permits, her spars will be taken out of her and the hulk abandoned until next spring. In case she is not broke up during the winter, an attempt will be made to take her off the beach in the spring. It is quite likely that she will not withstand the winter's storms. Her cargo of coal will undoubtedly prove a total loss because it consists mainly of steam coal which cannot under any circumstances be pumped with a centrifugal pump. The smaller portion of the cargo is blacksmith's coal, and the quantity is so small that it will not pay for the effort to save it." Sheboygan Evening Telegram 11/10/1890.

"On November 5th the schooner Montgomery, laden with 700 tons of coal, went ashore at Stoney Creek, six miles North of Sheboygan, during a gale. The tug Sheboygan went to her assistance but the schooner had been thrown over a ridge of rocks and could not be released. A few days later the wreck was abandoned to the Underwriters as a total loss. The tug Sheboygan took the schooner Elva with a crew of 14 men to the wreck and stripped it of spars, rigging and all other gear. In the Spring of 1891, the hull was found broken into pieces by the force of ice and winter gales, and the coal cargo had been washed away. Captain Christie of Toledo, owner and Master of the Montgomery, had at the time of the wreck complained strenuously to the Keeper of the Life Saving Station at Sheboygan, that his signals for assistance had been ignored by the beach patrol, but no disciplinary action was taken." Inland Seas, Spring 1961 page 15.